1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for conveying consignments, i.e., delivering shipping items.
2. Related Art
Delivery services that need to distribute or collect consignments, such as packages and letters, expend a great deal of effort to get from delivery address to delivery address. As a result, a large amount of time elapses and the driving profiles for the delivery vehicles are fairly inconvenient.
US 2009 0 150 306 A1 proposes that performance of the service be followed by the leaving of a note on/in the vehicle saying that a service has been performed.
DE 10 2007 009 741 A1 describes how important items in the vehicle are provided with RFID tags and a warning is output if particular items are forgotten when leaving the vehicle.
US 2006 0 290 319 A1 (Motorola) describes how the presence of a portable appliance in a charging station is identified and notification is provided when leaving the vehicle if an appliance is still in a charging station.
US 2012 0 007 741 A1 discloses that the start of a journey prompts querying/input of what has been placed into the vehicle.
DE 10 2008 009 427 A1 describes the administration and display of an unlocking protocol for an infotainment system that indicates whether unlocking/locking has taken place in the meantime.
Vehicles are by now frequently equipped with what are known as “keyless entry units” that allow the vehicle to be unlocked/locked externally by radio. This requires a control unit that is situated in the motor vehicle and that communicates by radio signals with an external unit that is usually integrated in a key or in an authorization card for the vehicle. The control unit situated in the vehicle and the external unit, also called an external identification unit, which the driver usually carries with him, make radio contact after both have been activated. Both units then use radio to interchange data that contain a stored code. If this code matches between the identification unit and the control unit, the vehicle is opened or closed by the authorized driver.
The term consignment is understood to mean all paperwork or items that can be transferred to a recipient or collected from a sender for transport to a delivery address using a company. By way of example, these include correspondence, consignments of small goods and money transfers. The consignments are usually conveyed to the residential address of the person in question. A mail recipient of a consignment is that person who is named in the address and for whom a (mail) consignment is intended. This may be a natural or a legal person, e.g., an institution, a corporation or a company, for example. A residential address is the mailing address of a residence in which a person permanently lives. This may be the main residence or the secondary residence. A residential address normally consists of the indication of the street, house number, the town and the country. In some cases, the apartment or room number or the floor, the part of the building (e.g., rear building) and a sublet relationship (“c/o”) is/are also indicated. For the sending of consignments (mail), the residential address also contains the zip code and if need be the district or borough. If the residential address is on a housing estate, instead of the street the name of the housing estate and the house number are quoted.
A mail recipient is also understood to mean the person who actually receives a mail item. This person may, but does not have to, be the person addressed (addressee). He may be instructed by the recipient to receive the mail item. Mail items are usually put into the building mailbox. Certain consignments, such as those with the consignment form “By registered mail” or with a “notice of delivery”, are normally delivered to the recipient directly, as are telegrams and express deliveries. Some consignments, e.g., undeliverable packages, are not placed into the mailbox. In these cases, the recipient receives a notification card.
Frequently, it is the case that the person in question cannot be found at the residential address upon delivery and a notification, which has already been mentioned, is left by a mail or delivery service concerning how, where and when the consignment can be conveyed again. These inefficient logistics give rise to additional environmental pollution and costs because, by way of example, engines in the delivery vehicles are often used outside the optimum operating range. Furthermore, the delivery vehicles are often a traffic obstruction because the drivers rarely look for a parking space for the short stopping times but rather simply stop with hazard lights, and it is necessary to drive to the residential address repeatedly in order to convey the consignments.